If we see inhistory there has been numerous atrocities and most have ben regarded as atrocities only after the have been done and ususllly a generation later. i see something similar to this in the case of stolen generation which was perpetrated by Australia. Actaully there was a great hue and cry about the applogy that was given bythe Australaian PM for have lifted aborgine children from theier parents. A lot of people said that the apology was not necessary. and there was also a claim for money by at least one person and the govt paid
No this may set a precedent and there may be several payments by the govt
What I want to say here is that there are not many atrocities that have been apologised for by the govt and hence this one makes it special
Austalia is moving into the next generation of the new world order
You comments and views on this issue is welcome

lagoon

Sorry, it's impossible to read that because of all the full stops and no capitals...

deanhills

South Africa to date has lost at least a generation due to HIV/AIDS. So has Zimbabwe and a number of African countries. One of the saddest things imaginable. All you have to do is visit Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg, or go to Kwa-Zulu Natal. Aids started being rampant in the eighties and like a wild fire wiped out almost whole communities. So many homeless children as a result. A report was written up about Children Affected by Aids in Africa in 2005 following an in-depth study at the link below:

I reckon governments shouldn't have to take responsibility for what distant generation-governments did, but it's a nice gesture.

deanhills

wellerchap wrote:

I reckon governments shouldn't have to take responsibility for what distant generation-governments did, but it's a nice gesture.

Agreed. Lots of that all over the world. Some of it legitimate. This reminds me of the Swiss Banks and relatives of people who died in Aushwitz and other concentration camps. Does anybody know whether any of the most recent claims have been successful?

Coclus

okay i don't get it.

bonestorm74

Probably some clarification required here.

The stolen generation was a group of Aboriginal children who were taken from their homes at a very young age by white people, with the aim of 're-educating them' or re-shaping them into white culture. Of course this was a very horrific thing to have happen to these people, to have their families ripped apart, and the Australian PM did indeed apologize for this happening earlier this year.

deanhills

bonestorm74 wrote:

Probably some clarification required here.

The stolen generation was a group of Aboriginal children who were taken from their homes at a very young age by white people, with the aim of 're-educating them' or re-shaping them into white culture. Of course this was a very horrific thing to have happen to these people, to have their families ripped apart, and the Australian PM did indeed apologize for this happening earlier this year.

Does this mean that the Aussies coined this phrase? As the actual phrase could easily apply to many groups of cultures and events all over the world. Not all of them have been apologized for. How about the Inuits in Canada, Indians in the United States, black tribes during colonization periods in Africa amongst themselves. When the Black tribes made war on one another people at young age were usually abducted and used as slaves. What about the massive slavery when millions of young blacks were forceably removed from their African homes into slavery for plantation owners in the United States? In Asia I can think about the wars in Vietnam and Korea when young people were forcably enlisted in the war. In present-day Africa where there are still civil wars going on in places like Liberia, young people are forceably removed from their parents and completely re-educated for use for the purpose of war.

Generations have been stolen and probably will continue to be stolen as long as the above continues. Awesome suffering! Complete cruelty.

LumberJack

Canada just recently apologized to its stolen Generation. Aboriginal discrimination is very much a problem here as well as an many other places in North America.

Its a double edged sword here unfortunately. Many people are upset about the policies that favor the current aboriginals, as they feel they are using the "sins of the past" to get what they want. I really think it depends on the person, there are many people who abuse the social nets in Canada, race isn't really as relevant as what kind of people they are.

deanhills

LumberJack wrote:

Canada just recently apologized to its stolen Generation. Aboriginal discrimination is very much a problem here as well as an many other places in North America.

Its a double edged sword here unfortunately. Many people are upset about the policies that favor the current aboriginals, as they feel they are using the "sins of the past" to get what they want. I really think it depends on the person, there are many people who abuse the social nets in Canada, race isn't really as relevant as what kind of people they are.

Thanks for the update! That is pretty amazing. Looks as though I am losing touch being stationed outside the country. I agree with you of course 100% and you put it very well for me too:

Quote:

there are many people who abuse the social nets in Canada, race isn't really as relevant as what kind of people they are

mejo1900

In my opinion it is somewhat unfair to have governments apologize for what their ancestors did. That being said, the families of those hurt by the injustice need closure from somewhere, and often this is the best way.

deanhills

mejo1900 wrote:

In my opinion it is somewhat unfair to have governments apologize for what their ancestors did. That being said, the families of those hurt by the injustice need closure from somewhere, and often this is the best way.

I wonder whether there will ever be closure on matters like these? The apologies are well intended, but may just re-open old wounds and remind people of things they would like to forget about. More than apology, probably positive assistance is needed for the people to empower themselves so that they can take control of their own lives again, and walk straight and proud once again. Think some of that good work has been done over a number of years now. For example Fisheries BC assisted in a great way to get the fisheries communities to empower themselves, to reorganize themselves and to become a viable industry once more.

Crinoid

Such accent on monetary compensation and government only makes me worry...

hamza1122

Apology is one thing but more things should be done to actually improve their situation. Action speaks louder than words. At least there's no more denial.

deanhills

hamza1122 wrote:

Apology is one thing but more things should be done to actually improve their situation. Action speaks louder than words. At least there's no more denial.

How can their situation be improved at this impossibly late stage? The damage has already been done, and as far as I can see is irrepairable. How do you fix a spirit that is broken?

Kopernikus

At this time there is a very heated discussion in Austria about recompensation for the victims of the Nazi regime.

Cynically the longer ago the atrocity, the greater the willingness of the governments to make amends for them. Simply because the number of survivors dwindels with every month.

But what do you count as "lost generation"? Do the young people of Austria and Germany who were sent to war count too? World War I killed of a good part of the young male generation born around the turn of the last century.

And, for what it is worth, how long do you think recompensation should be made?

Do the grandchildren of the victims in central europe still have a valid claim? and if you say yes to that, how far back should it go? decades? centuries? millennia?

Do I have to apologize for actions my greatparents did? just wondering...

BinahZ

I think it is quite appropriate that govt`s apologize for the sins of those in power in the past. If not them who? The gov`t is not an individual persona, but a representative body of the people. Therefore they are an extension of the past gov`t. There are many atrocities that deserve such apologies. In my opinion it is the least that can be done. Monetary compensation would be a case by case issue. How do you compensate for the loss of a child or family member? You never can..

Kopernikus

BinahZ wrote:

I think it is quite appropriate that govt`s apologize for the sins of those in power in the past. If not them who? The gov`t is not an individual persona, but a representative body of the people. Therefore they are an extension of the past gov`t. There are many atrocities that deserve such apologies. In my opinion it is the least that can be done. Monetary compensation would be a case by case issue. How do you compensate for the loss of a child or family member? You never can..

I didn´t mean to imply, that government apologies aren´t the right thing to do.
But I wonder sometimes, where to draw the line...
The government of Austria, for instance is definitely not an extension of the nazi regime!
You could make a point and say it has to apologize for the way it handled some of the war criminals later, but there was a very significant break in the continuation of governments.

OTOH there wasn´t in the case of the US regarding the aboriginal population of northern america. well, but there goes the time factor again... how long do you have to make restitutions for past crimes?
And what about the possible predecessors of the "indians"?

deanhills

Kopernikus wrote:

At this time there is a very heated discussion in Austria about recompensation for the victims of the Nazi regime.

Cynically the longer ago the atrocity, the greater the willingness of the governments to make amends for them. Simply because the number of survivors dwindels with every month.

But what do you count as "lost generation"? Do the young people of Austria and Germany who were sent to war count too? World War I killed of a good part of the young male generation born around the turn of the last century.

And, for what it is worth, how long do you think recompensation should be made?

Do the grandchildren of the victims in central europe still have a valid claim? and if you say yes to that, how far back should it go? decades? centuries? millennia?

Do I have to apologize for actions my greatparents did? just wondering...

Is this compensation for the Austrians from the Germans?

BinahZ

I would think it would be from the German govt. I dont think there is enough money in that country to do actual compensation.. Obviously a personal opinion.

deanhills

BinahZ wrote:

I would think it would be from the German govt. I dont think there is enough money in that country to do actual compensation.. Obviously a personal opinion.

I wonder what happened with compensation by the Swiss Banks, especially those families of Jews who had fled Germany who had been fighting for decades to get access to their family funds in Swiss banks.

Kopernikus

deanhills wrote:

Kopernikus wrote:

At this time there is a very heated discussion in Austria about recompensation for the victims of the Nazi regime.

Cynically the longer ago the atrocity, the greater the willingness of the governments to make amends for them. Simply because the number of survivors dwindels with every month.

But what do you count as "lost generation"? Do the young people of Austria and Germany who were sent to war count too? World War I killed of a good part of the young male generation born around the turn of the last century.

And, for what it is worth, how long do you think recompensation should be made?

Do the grandchildren of the victims in central europe still have a valid claim? and if you say yes to that, how far back should it go? decades? centuries? millennia?

Do I have to apologize for actions my greatparents did? just wondering...

Is this compensation for the Austrians from the Germans?

No, it´s from the Austrian Govt. and private organisations to the victims of the Nazis.
There where a lot of Austrian Jews whose whole wealth was confiscated or extorted by private citizens, who happened to be Nazis...

And there where a *lot* of victims, not only jews! What makes me so mad is the shabby way Austria treated the survivors and the off-hand way it exonerated some of the criminals.

paul_indo

What about the convicts who were sent to Australia for as little as stealing a loaf of bread?